Girl in Red – 16 September 2024 (Sant Jordi Club – Barcelona)

Pop music has been dominated in recent decades by ‘queens‘ such as Madonna, Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Rihanna, whose influence on the mainstream was (and still is) remarkable. However, in the aftermath of the pandemic, and especially in recent months, we have seen how women who were closer to the independent scene (no need to go all Taylor Swift) have been able to reach a mainstream audience with surprising ease, as in the cases of Charli xcx, Sabrina Carpenter or Chappell Roan. Not surprisingly, a good part of this second set list served as a warm-up for the sound system before the Norwegian Girl in Red‘s concert at Barcelona’s Sant Jordi Club, where on her first visit to Barcelona she managed to fill half of the venue with an audience that was notable for the strong presence of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Girl In Red, Sant Jordi Club Barcelona 2024 – Photo by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

With an overwhelming start, including jumps in ‘DOING IT AGAIN BABY‘, the concert showed from the first moments what a party the Sant Jordi Club would become throughout the night. With a pop that was as close to bedroom pop in their early songs like ‘Bad Idea!‘ or ‘Girls‘ as she was backed by a more powerful band in ‘New Love‘, Horten’s girl had the audience in their pocket from the first second of the show.. Either for the music, or for the constant interaction with the audience, talking about the lyrics of her songs, responding to requests from her fans to design tattoos, or advising them to visit a café in Barcelona where she was surprised by the coffee… 100% natural and uninhibited!

Girl In Red, Sant Jordi Club Barcelona 2024 – Photo by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

After this start, there was a part of the concert where they alternated between indie songs from her latest album I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! (2024) such as ‘I’m Back‘ and ‘Ugly Side‘ with songs from their early days, from a slowed down acoustic guitar version of ‘October Passed Me By‘ to the unleashed madness of ‘We Fell In Love In October‘, the first song to be sung in mass karaoke, with its catchy chorus ‘my girl, my girl…‘.

Girl In Red, Sant Jordi Club Barcelona 2024 – Photo by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

After a small but incomprehensible interlude of electronic music, during which the stage was empty, the concert gave way to a much livelier second half, in which it became clear what a cyclone the Norwegian singer is live, at times reminiscent of Billie Eilish in the audacity and naturalness of her persona.. It’s worth mentioning once again how good the band that accompanies her live is, because the last 40 minutes of the show were used to make the band’s versatility grow by leaps and bounds. ‘Phantom Pain‘, ‘You Stupid Bitch‘ and the amazing ‘Serotonin‘ made a perfect package out of the incredible guitars and drums, and perhaps that’s why the slow rhythms of ‘Too Much‘ or the intimate atmosphere of ‘A Night to Remember‘ were a cold shower for a concert that was picking up speed.

Girl In Red, Sant Jordi Club Barcelona 2024 – Photo by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

There was still time for everything to come back to its place, from the sincerity of the Norwegian’s voice in ‘Midnight Love‘, but especially with a last 15 minutes that started with the great ‘Rue‘, probably the best song of the night, with punk touches that at times reminded one of the best Paramore.. With the wind at her back, the lively guitars of ‘Dead Girl in the Pool‘ got the crowd dancing, eager to end the concert in style with the mega-hit ‘I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend‘, which surprised everyone with the power of the Norwegian singer’s powerful guitars and the Wall of Death that she herself set up in the audience to end the song…

Girl In Red, Sant Jordi Club Barcelona 2024 – Photo by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

And so Marie Ulven ended her first visit to Barcelona on a high note, proving that although she has opened some shows for Taylor Swift and is musically related to her, her style is much closer to the new wave alternative pop of Caroline Polachek and Gracie Abrams.. She won us over from the first second with her naturalness and confidence, and we can’t wait to see her again, preferably in venues which allow greater proximity such as Apolo or Razzmatazz.